Pin-back.



E. B. LEWIS.

PIN BACK.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 8, 1915.

1,163,350. Patented Dec.7,1915.

EDWARD '5. Laurie, or PACIFIC cnovn, CALIFORNIA.

' PIN-BACK.

incense.

Specification of Letters Patent.

8 Patented Dec. .7, 1915.

Application filed April 8, 1915. Serial No. 19,905.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD B. Lnwis, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pacific Grove, county of Monterey, and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pin-Backs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to pin backs.

My object is to provide a pin back, more especially for jewelry, wherein the catch, the back, and the pivot ears or joint will be in one piece, formed from a single blank, thereby dispensing with solder or fastening means heretofore commonly employed for either or both the catch and the pivot or joint and particularly for the latter.

My improved pin back cheapens the cost of production, simplifies the construction, increases the strength and durability of the catch and joint and otherwise affords a superior construction to pin backs having at tached catches and joints.

The pin body or setting which maybe connected to my improved back, constitutes no part of the present invention, as my improvements relate solely to the back. I am well aware, however, that a complete pin may be constructed according to my invention, the back having the integral pivot or joint, ears and catch, then constituting the.

pin body. I wish it understood, therefore, that in claiming the invention as a pin back I do not limit myself to its use on pin backs alone, but intend to cover the use of the pin back as the body of the pin.

In my invention, the pin back is provided with a bent-up cup formed of the end of the back and lateral extensions of the blank. The back is also provided with a struck-up lip disposed substantially centrally thereof.

The sides of the cup have prick points or indentations from the outside to constitute the pivot or joint for the pin. The struckup lip is arranged substantially at rightangles to the back and constitutes a rigid abutment for the pin when the latter is partly closed so that further movement imparted tothe pin and engaging it with the catch, is brought about against the inherent resiliency of the pinand, consequently, the pin is retained in the catch. The disposition and form of my struck-up lip prevent it from becoming bent or displaced and insure a rigid abutment for the pin.

The embodiment of the invention which is set forth hereinafter is to be considered as illustrative, rather than restrictive, of the scope of the invention, which is susceptible of modification. I In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 1s a side elevation, the pin being shown as arrested by the lip; Fig. 2, a view like Fig. l, with parts of the joint in section; Fig. 3 a plan vlew; Fig. 4, a side elevation with parts of the joint in section, the pin being removed; Fig. 5, a plan view showing the ears or sides of the cup partly bent and ready for the reception of the eye of'the pln therebetween; and Fig. 6, a detail of the blank from which the pin'back is made.

The complete pin back 1 is formed from a blank, as shown in Fig. 6. The blank is made of a single piece of metal of any desired material and if used as a back, instead of a body, it may be provided with holes 2 through which the rivets or fastenings may pass for the attachment of the body. These holes and rivets constitute no part of my invention. At one end the blank is bent up at right-anglesto form the hook-shaped catch 5. At its other end the ears appearing at 6 in Fig. 6 and the widened rounded end 7 are bent up, first as shown in Fig. 5, ready for the insertion of the pin 8 and finally as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, to form the pivot or joint for the pin 8, thelatter having an eye 9 disposed snugly between the sides or ears 6 and pivoted by the inward prick punches, or nibs, 10, which first appear as in Fig. 5 and subsequently appear as in Fig. 3, after the pin 8 has been inserted and the ears 6 have been pinched or pressed toward each other. Such compression forms the large part 7, Fig. 6, into the upwardly inclined, correspondingly numbered, part of the remaining figures and constitutes the bottom or back of the joint or cup to limit the outward or backward swing of the pin 8 when it is opened. As represented by dotted lines 11 in Fig. 6, the pin back 1 is slashed and a bent or struck-up lip or tongue 12 is provided which is so arranged that it is adapted to abut the pin 8 when the latter is almost down to the catch, as shown in Figs. land 2, so that further movement of the pin 8 for the purpose of engaging it with the catch 5, will be effected against the inherent resiliency of the pin 8 and hence the pin will be firmly held in the catch when it has become engaged therewith. Being disposed substantially at right-angles to the back 1, the'lip l2 constitutes a permanently rigid abutment for the pin.

,My pin back being formed from a single blank and all soldering and attaching means for the catch and cup or joint being dispensed with, the parts are rendered strong and durable, the expense of production is greatly lessened, and breakage is minimized. The pin being the part which is most inclined to breakage in any pin-attached jewelry, its removal is rendered easy by merely spreading the ears 6 to disengage the prick punches or protuberances 10 from the eye 9. A new pin 8 may then be readily substituted and the ears or sides 6 of the cup pressed or pinched toward each other to pivot the substituted pin.

In the claims where 1 specify the lip or tongue as being disposed substantially at right-angles to the back or body 1, I do not intend to limit its position to a strictly right-angular one, as variations from an exact right-angular position may be made without impairing the rigidity of the abutment which the lip provides for the pin.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A pin back having a pivoted pin and provided with a lip or tongue struck up from the body of said back substantially at right-angles thereto and disposed inwardly from the pivot of the pin and constituting a rigid abutment or brace for the pin.

2. A pin back made from a single blank having a joint or hinge cup formed of ears bent up from opposite side edges thereof and constituting a pivot for the pin, said back being provided with a lip or tongue struck up from its body centrally thereof substantially at right-angles thereto and disposed inwardly from the pivotal parts of said ears and constituting a rigid abutment or brace for the pin.

EDWARD B. LEWIS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Gommissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

